This invention pertains generally to the art of footwear articles. Specifically, the invention pertains to closure arrangements for footwear articles.
The invention is particularly applicable to footwear articles, especially shoes that may be put on and removed by persons having limited dexterity. The invention will be described with particular reference to that environment. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention has broader application and may be advantageously employed to any closure system, for example a closure for clothing articles, that incorporates a lacing member to draw together opposed lace bars.
Numerous efforts to improve conventional closure systems, especially on footwear articles, have been proposed in the past. Many recent efforts have involved the use of hook-and-loop fasteners such as VELCRO in conjunction with pre-existing structure on a footwear article.
For example, Mahood, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,761, describes an adjustable closure especially applicable to athletic shoes with a large instep. Mahood's shoe closure incorporates a conventional lace bar on the medial (inner) side of the shoe and a removable lace bar on the lateral (outer) side of the shoe. The removable lace bar is secured to the shoe upper by VELCRO. When the removable lace bar is fastened in place to the lateral side of the shoe upper, it may be laced and tied to the medial lace bar in a conventional manner. Once laced and tied, the closure may be opened and closed by releasing or attaching the VELCRO lace bar.
Another hook-and-loop fastening structure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,916 to Salisbury. That patent describes a quick-release lace tightening arrangement for footwear articles that incorporates VELCRO patch secured to the lace ends. Salisbury is concerned with providing for quick re-tightening of the shoe closure. The length of the lace member of Salisbury is adjusted by a clamp that is hidden from view when the patch is secured to its counterpart patch. Adjustment of Salisbury's closure is by way of the adjustment of a clamp that secures the lacing member ends.
While VELCRO type fasteners such as those of Mahood and Salisbury may render closure fastening and unfastening easier and quicker, these hook-and-loop fasteners may tend to loosen during shoe use and may not provide as secure a fastening capability as conventional lacing members. The use of shoe closures that rely solely upon hook-and-loop fasteners thus represents a sacrifice of fastener ability over conventional laces to provide ease of use. Prior art closures do not combine the benefit of hook-and-loop fasteners with those of quick-fastening and more conventional modes of fastening such as laces.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a closure arrangement that can function both as a conventional fastening closure, wherein the lacing member is secured through lace bars, and as a quick-fastening closure, wherein the lacing member can be detached from and fastened to the lace bars quickly and easily without unlacing.